The Truth About Vintage Amps with Skip Simmons Podcast

We're back with episode 148 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Jason survives a month in Peru; the schematics of acupuncture; speaker break-in; and more! 

Our sponsors: Amplified Parts; Grez Guitars; Better Help, and Emerald City Guitars 

Topics discussed: 

:00 Jason goes to Peru, Skip gets the new Fretboard Journal 

11:20 What’s on Skip’s Bench: A roasted Tweed Harvard

13:18 Spotted on eBay: Packard Bell teaching tool / working schematic

16:13 A 1952 Champion 600 with a 1952 Telecaster

18:54 Skip doesn’t hang out with Jack White

24:22: Our sponsors: Check out this groovy Showman at Emerald City Guitars! 

31:33 Barry & The Remains; what should I do with this Bell 2122C integrated mono tube amp? slow-cooker chicken breasts with salsa; Radio Shack Minimus 7 speakers

41:40 Congrats to listener Marcus, Master of Public Health from Harvard! 

42:44 Non-polarized electrolytics

45:58 Alternatives to 6V6s

47:50 Acupuncture point charts vs tube amp schematics

51:01 Deciding on a good speaker; mir a poux

1:03:05 Modding a Harmony 420

1:08:00 DIY cooling fan tips Mouser part numbers: Mouser #490-CFM-4010-13-22, FAN AXIAL 40X10.6MM 12VDC; Mouser #576-01500322H, Fuse Holder ACS INLINE FUSE HOLDER; Mouser #709-APV8-12, Meanwell 8W, 12V, 0.67A power supply

1:11:32 What should I plug a Fender Bass VI into?

1:14:22 Getting a good tone out of a master volume Silverface Fenders? Hal’s Grub Steak BBQ sauce?

1:20:16 Pedal steel through JBL D130Fs, breaking-in speakers

1:25:46 Replacing the red module in a 1969 Standel solid state amp; vinegar, syrup and seltzer shooters

1:31:19 Movie recommendation: Steven Spielberg's 1971 film ‘Duel’

Recorded May 30, 2025.

Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too. 

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 

Don't forget, we have a Patreon page. Support the show, get behind-the-scenes updates and get to the front of the line with your questions. 

Episode 147 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Jason is headed to Peru, hemp speakers, resistors, modding PAs for harps, Lilly vs Lily at the Fender factory, kosher sound, and more!

Fluidics: https://acoustics.org/pressroom/httpdocs/132nd/2aaa8.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ5wZRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA4eUxOc0djNTJqWnJRVVBTAR7SSMwDpCna1oRbSpuMLYDJrD1VRKzf8vbj3V6WOi3icH6LldxBvnOYopsKzw_aem_I4XGzFLTK-gXim_txcL4ig

Our sponsors: Save $20 off Amplified Parts' new MOD vintage amp kits with the discount code TAVA20! (expires April 30, 2025); Grez Guitars; Better Help, and Emerald City Guitars 

Recorded April 24, 2025.

Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too. 

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 

Don't forget, we have a Patreon page. Support the show, get behind-the-scenes updates and get to the front of the line with your questions. 

Episode 146 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Troubled drummers, bulk Gatorade, more typewriter and Rockford Files talk, and a bunch of amp questions. Reminder: Amplified Parts now has amp kits!

Thanks, as always, for being a part of the world's finest call-in tube amp repair show.

Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too. 

Some of the topics discussed this week: 

:43 The Ampeg book (Amazon link), George Barnes and 'Guitars Galore'

3:43 A 1982 black panel Fender Champ

4:43 A Super Reverb that sounds like a dying motorcycle

6:09 Jason goes to Peru, vicuñas, alpacas  

10:23 Some TAVA announcements: Sam Plecker has a new album ('So True'); congrats to John Vanderslice; RIP to Michael Hurley; thanks to Tin Can Valley Letterpress printing (link)

14:37 Ep. 150 idea: Skip's amp guru on the podcast?; servicing a hybrid Standel

18:24 Our sponsors: Save $20 off Amplified Parts' new MOD vintage amp kits with the discount code TAVA20! (expires April 30, 2025); Grez Guitars; and Emerald City Guitars 

25:40 Recommended pedal: The Catalinbread Topanga reverb pedal (note: Skip said "Tropicana," but it's the Topanga)

27:45 Replies to last week's Rockford Files Baffler; Jim Gordon, 'Drums & Demons' (Amazon link); Hal Blaine's 'Buh-doom!' comedy album (it's on Spotify) and other Hollywood gossip; more Rockford Files (and letterpress!)

35:46 Accidentally injecting positive feedback into a Precision single-ended amp; tools for measuring plate current

40:23 Cleaning motor oil off of tubes and a vintage microphone; Gatorade and Tang; running a Traynor off of a gas generator

47:37 A smoking 1980s Fender Super Champ and fried resistors

52:51 A 6-watt Princeton Reverb / Vibro-Champ clone in a custom beetle-kill pine tree cabinet

59:02 An amp cabinet with sympathetic strings (Reverb link), explained! Vulture Amplification video one and two; Treehaus field coil speakers (link)

1:05:08 Hooking something up: Experimenting with a speaker outside of a cabinet 

1:06:29 Servicing an all-original Vibrolux Reverb to sell 

1:09:58 Giving the gift of an El Pato Tone practice amp (order yours here); Typewriter Revolution; typewriter ribbons from Baco Ribbon & Supply Co.

1:18:52 Reverse audio taper potentiometers

1:22:37 Come get a free SVT speaker

1:23:13 Sacramento's Delta Breeze record store, redux; not all capacitors are created equal; always use a test speaker; Amplified Parts' Hammond enclosure for short reverb tanks

1:27:22 Recommended reading: Hampton Sides' 'The Wide Wide Sea' (Amazon link) 

1:28:51 Homework: Check out the Maestro GA-2RT schematic

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 

Don't forget, we have a Patreon page. Support the show, get behind-the-scenes updates and get to the front of the line with your questions. 

Episode 145 of the Truth About Vintage Amps: Kahlua brie, replicating Nirvana's In Utero sound, hissy reverb units and more!

Thanks, as always, for being a part of the world's finest call-in tube amp repair show.

Want amp tech Skip Simmons' advice on your DIY guitar amp projects? Join us by sending your voice memo or written questions to [email protected]! Include a photo, too. 

Some of the topics discussed this week: 

1:17 Skip makes even more stuff for John Vanderslice & Tiny Telephone; Skip's take on the MTI Tubes pedal

8:18 Skip's Premier 90-inspired reverb unit

15:20 Our sponsors: Grez Guitars; Emerald City Guitars and Amplified Parts! Get the Amplified Parts' Spring Reverb Kit here.

19:06 What's on your bench: A Fender Deluxe and Pro; how to work on old Tweeds; orange drop caps

26:20 The Joyo American Sound pedal, redux; SansAmp pedals; Kurt Cobain's 'In Utero' sound (hear listener Brian play the Joyo on YouTube)

27:27 Vintage amps and PAs at the 2025 Fretboard Summit (register here)

28:32 Adding a resistor to bump up the values when measuring on a Fluke multimeter?

31:49 Using a carb cleaning kit for octal sockets (Amazon link); working on Filmosound 385s

34:19 Skip's car restoration; the Swamp book (Amazon link); Benny Hill

40:20 No delete on typewriters; Mitch Hedberg and steamboats (YouTube link)

41:37 A 1965 Ampeg Reverberocket with a hiss

45:21 Skip made the ticking go away; a 5F2A build inspired me to buy a 1961 Fender 6G4-A Super; Kahlua brie with pecans

54:02 A noisy 1970s tube Fender Reverb unit, the magic of NOS pre-amp tubes in single-ended amps

59:02 To be continued: What's the deal with this amp cabinet on Reverb? (Reverb link)

1:01:00 The Garnet amp book (link), the Gibson Amp book on Blue Book's site (cheaper than Amazon!), Gibson Falcon talk, the doldrums of being a flight service specialist (or drawbridge operator)

1:10:21 Recommended reading (at least for the Canucks): Robert Dayton's 'Cold Glitter: The Untold Story of Canadian Glam' (Amazon link)

1:13:15 A Rockford Files baffler

1:14:12 Why do the English have all the better TV shows? 'Stath Lets Flats'

1:17:33 Sacramento's Delta Breeze Records; Skip has SF Fender Champs for sale

Hosted by amp tech Skip Simmons and co-hosted/produced by Jason Verlinde of the Fretboard Journal. 

Don't forget, we have a Patreon page. Support the show, get behind-the-scenes updates and get to the front of the line with your questions.